CHICAGO — Jim Barnett got clocked a few times in his six-team, 11-year NBA career, but never harder than when Milwaukee’s Bobby Dandridge intentionally nailed him in the temple with an elbow in a playoff game in the early 1970s. “That was the worst,” Barnett, now a broadcaster for the Golden State Warriors, said recently. “Because I was out. Jon McGlocklin was with the Bucks – I had played with him in San Diego – and I said, ‘Jon, I have no idea where I am.’

“He said, ‘I’ll just throw the ball to Oscar [Robertson] and Lucius Allen.’ And for, like, three possessions up and down the floor, he didn’t try to beat me or anything. Swear to God, in a playoff game.”

Reminded about the incident, McGlocklin smiled and said, “I don’t think I was ever that nice.” But Barnett appreciated his sportsmanship – he was trying to keep what almost certainly was a concussion hidden from Warriors coach Al Attles – and felt even worse once his head cleared: “I started to feel OK and I hit a jump shot [against McGlocklin], and I felt badly about it.”

We might hope that Metta World Peace and James Harden reminisce someday about the ugly, frightening incident Sunday that put Harden out of Oklahoma City’s lineup and left World Peace, the Lakers’ tightly wound forward, awaiting what is expected to be a significant suspension and possibly fine.

Late in the first half of their matinee game at Staples Center, World Peace swung a wild but seemingly well-aimed elbow that slammed into the back of Harden’s head, drawing gasps from those who saw it both in real time and via endless replays ever since. The flagrant-2 foul ended the game for both men — Harden initially tried to return after halftime but was sent back to the locker room, while World Peace was banished for the vicious blow.

Harden, the NBA’s presumptive 2012 Sixth Man Award winner in balloting that barely has begun, is now a participant in the NBA’s new concussion program. He underwent a battery of tests Monday in Oklahoma City and must meet strict protocol before he can be cleared to return for the Thunder.

Under the policy, players diagnosed with concussions must undergo neurological testing and pass a series of exertion tests (treadmill, stationary bicycle, basketball skills), remaining symptom-free afterward. Teams must consult with the director of the league’s program, Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, before deciding on a return date. Harden is listed as day-to-day for Oklahoma City, which has two regular-season games remaining (home games against Sacramento on Tuesday and Denver on Wednesday).

The Lakers have just one (a date in Sacramento on Thursday), which suggests that World Peace still will be sitting out when his team begins the playoffs with a first-round game this weekend. The league had not announced the penalties, if any, against World Peace by Monday evening, but speculation suggested a suspension of at least two games and perhaps five (and maybe even more) games.

Here’s where the NBA can put some teeth into its discipline and really support the newfound concern about head injuries: Tie World Peace’s suspension to Harden’s recovery time.

The NHL has talked about similar linkage between time lost by players who suffered intentional harm and the punishment meted out to their assailants. And it seems only fair — if OKC has to play “X” number of games without Harden, it doesn’t seem right that the guy who put him out of service might be back first to help his team.

One possibility: A stiff suspension that adjusts up the longer the harmed player is out. For instance, the NBA could impose a suspension of “10 games or the length of Harden’s absence-plus-five games, whichever is longest.” Or five games and plus-three. Something that would make the transgressor and his team feel a greater pinch that the victm and team that got wronged.

Most concussions, this season as well as any, are accidental. A player bangs his head on the court, the way Boston’s Mickeal Pietrus did. Or he catches an inadvertent elbow, the way Minnesota’s Kevin Love did from Denver’s JaVale McGee. But if there is intent – or certainly a deliberate, direct act, a la World Peace’s frantic, overly emotional theatrics (kindest interpretation) after a dunk — and a blow to someone’s head is the result, then a mandatory suspension plus games reflecting the fallen guy’s recovery seems appropriate.

Could a team or a player “game” the system? Probably. If Harden, for instance, were healthy enough to play Tuesday against the Kings but coach Scott Brooks decided to hold him out for normal pre-postseason rest, the ridiculously named World Peace might be sidelined longer.

But y’know what? Tough. He put the wheels in motion. And MWP had more than a few folks wondering again if maybe he wasn’t the one who needed the brain tests.

288 Comments

BOYCOTT THE NBA,BASKETBALL FANS, IF YOU HATE CHEAP SHOTS AS MUCH AS I DO!BOYCOTT THE SNEAKER COMPANIES THAT PAY THESE JERKS TO ENDORSE THEIR PRODUCTS, TOO, ESPECIALLY IF YOU THINK THE PUNISHMENT WAS TOO LIGHT! THE TEAM DISCIPLINARY RECORDS SHOULD SHOULD SHOW THE PLAYER’S RIGHT NAME(EXAMPLE: “RONALD ARTEST), NOT RUBBISH LIKE “METTA WORLDPEACE”!

Good idea, but the problem is that your managing impact rather then intention. So if someone gets hit with a vicious below and is lucky enough to survive it the person delivering the blow is not going to be suspended long – even though the same blow could have been much more severe. I think the intent is more important. In this case, the impact and intent were significant enough to warrant a stiff penalty. It would be sad to see the Lakers going in at half speed, but that’s what lack of discipline gets you.

The slow-mo action tells a diferent story, looks very malicious. But this is one of the few times I would base my judgement on the real time action. Did he intend the elbow swing – yes but more of kinda like ‘getouttamaway’ and not meant to be a lethal blow. Did he intend to connect – yes and momentary mental lapse would not be an excuse. But did he intend to hit harden’s head, DEFINITELY NOT. But why would someone, like Harden, walk into the path of a celebrating MWP ?! I really think he’s trying to initiate something, too bad, you got flattened out.
Nevrtheless, suspend MWP for 5-10 games, just because he connected. Harden, you can play, stop being a baby about it. Move on everyone. Playoffs would be more interesting with a full crew of players.

Everytime I watch the video clip, his actions scream INTENTIONAL!!! How do you go from beating your chest like Tarzan from swinging your elbow into someone’s head? And THEN (someone made this great point earlier) you walk away from the “accident” without so much as a glance to see if the person that you “didn’t see” was okay. Please! If you accidently hit somebody with your back turned, you’re going to look back to see who you hit and most importantly to see if they are okay. Ron’s adrenaline could not have been THAT high and if it was to the point where he is basically delusional, he needs to get himself checked out. But even I don’t buy that scenerio that I just threw out there.

So with that said, Ron knew what he was doing. CASE CLOSED. End of story.

for those who thinks his elbow to harden’s head has no intent, they must be blind.
look at his scary face, and the way he swing his elbow, he has every intent to hurt harden.
even if its harden who got in his way at first, but so what? that does not give him the right to hit harden.
we walk on a busy street everyday with loads of people getting in our way, so do we start swinging our elbows at whoever stands in front of us or bumped into us?

Wow! banned from the NBA? really? hahaha! Should Wade be banned for throwing a forearm to RIP’s chest and sending him into the front row? How about Wade breaking Kobe’s nose in and all star game when there is nothing on the line? Should Perkins get banned for not letting Griffin posterize him a second time? Love for stomping on Scola’s head? I can list at least 5 more plays like that from this year alone in the NBA that no one even blogged about. Ask yourself why? Look up the videos on youtube. All of them were not clean basketball plays and were all intentional. Were all these guys insane? Should they all be arrested and/or banned?
How many of you have played basketball in the trenches? Not just at your local park or at LA Fitness or a pickup game against your kids. Elbows and dirty plays happen almost every single possession. They are not as blatant and out in the open as what Artest did to Harden, but believe me, they happen constantly. That’s why the players wear mouthpieces and sometimes goggles. In this same game Artest had his nose rearranged on his face by Ibaka! Was it an intentional elbow to the face? believe me players swing their arms out all over the place in the paint and most of the time it is intentional. They are frustrated and it is an act to clear space. Artest is a physical player. Harden tries to play physical as well. This time he intentionally walked into the path of Artest after a great, clean basketball play by Artest. Harden just got introduced to a more physical, veteran of the game. Artest has been playing physical basketball for years now without incident. Should he be suspended? of course. Banned from NBA? what a joke. Any Laker fan on here saying this play is a disgrace to Laker history and players like Magic, Worthy, Kareem, etc… obviously never watched an 80’s playoff series. This type of play happened all the time! back then it was part of the game. There were rivalries, physical play (especially in rivalry games and playoff games) and players coming up bloody all the time. There were no suspensions or fines and most importantly there were no fans crying like babies about a physical play.
I am sure 90% of the people that post here have never played or been involved with any type of physical sport or activity. Stick to your text messages and blogs. Let the men play and the babies cry from the sidelines. Way to send a message Ron Ron. Its playoff time! Welcome to the NBA!

I wish You all would pull your heads out. First off this and many games are very competative so excitment and frustation is very high in a game like this. If the refs allow full contact in certain games then you are gonna get excited reactions. if you watch the clip in slow motion it can look intensional. In normal speed you can tell it is not intensional. Meta was selebrating while running down court harden stepped in Meta’s path inorder to keep a body on him (Physical play) and Meta tried to get by him. Swinging his arm to fight threw him and accidently hit him in the head. If you looked at Meta’s eyes,Face, And body posture. there are no indications of being intentional.The Incident is being manipulated by the media for ratings. Meta’s past is what is fueling this and trying to hand a stiffer suspension than deserved. I will stand strong on my opinion that it was unintentional unless Meta Himself tells me otherwise.

Lakers Fan Here. So Lets see, all of you want to see him vanish because it was serious, this has happened before but i don’t see players gone from the league so be quiet if you don’t can’t think logically for a punishment. Was the hit bad, yes? Should have avoided the situation…yes. Does harden have to walk into MWP (Artest)…nope not at all. The court is big, no full court pressure, not the last seconds of the 4th or overtime. So why does he bump into him, oh that’s right big buy big talker. He ended up being in the wrong place next to the wrong person simple as that. As for the Suspension i see at least 5 days max 10 days. But i do hope Harden gets back 100 because i don’t want to hear any excuse. And laker fans don’t make MWP our excuse either.

MWP was still mad from when Ibaka blocked his shot, so of course he was going to let his anger out some way, and James was there at the time. He’s weak for doing it, and needs to quit all together. I play better than him….

ok i would like to weigh in on thins if i may,(WORLD PEACE) aka artest has had problems in the past ans the name change should make no difference.. i believe that if the NBA wants so set an example then suspend him for 1 FULL season and make him the example that the guide lines were set up to show they mean what they say,then maybe by then he or others like him will think twice about throwing elbows.. there is a lot of it going on and if nothing is SERIOUSLY done about then nothing will change, pretty simple!!

What I see here is very obvious. Meta World Peace clearly celebrated by his dunk against Ibaka and Durant then was carried away by his strong emotions proving that his a tough guy. Then Harden comes over him as he was celebrating and seems pissed off thinking, “get out of my way, I’m the tough guy here!”. Clearly, this guy MWP is in erratic deranged behavior. This guy is insane! I DON’T SEE ANY REASON IF THAT ELBOW IS STILL PART OF HIS CELEBRATION. That is so obvious he wants to hit him and want to deliver him a sign to get off on his way. Looking closely on the clip, he distanced his arm from the other side to gain strength and land that elbow, and that clearly state is not an accident but an intentional disgraced! NBA should locked him out forever. This guy is insane and is dangerous.

As someone from the uk and whom is both an NBA and Football (soccer) fan, I feel that even a 5 match ban would not be sufficient. In the Premier league, if a player committed such a blatant foul, then he would recieve at least a 3 match ban. Comparing how many games are played in each league by each team than not even a 5 game suspension would be to a similar ratio. Punishment needs to be as harsh as the foul, in my opinion he should be lucky to feature in any game of the first two rounds of the playoffs, if the lakers make it that far.

It’s unfortunate what happened to Harden but let’s not act like he’s some innocent victim out here on the court, he talks trash and has his own incidents with other players like the last time they OKC played the Lakers and he called himself talking trash to Kobe and getting in his face. I’m not saying its right what MWP did but I’m not really surprised, where’s the outcry for Blake Griffin these day’s or D Rose they got knocked out of the sky recklessly by other players constantly where are all you so called fans asking for the end of those players careers some of you people are just as biased as some of the writers on this site. People get hurt and hit all the time in similar or more potentially fatal incidents throughout the league, sorry to inform you ladies but MEN’S BASKETBALL is still a contact sport you wanna see people’s careers ended over hits aggravated by other players go watch EURO BALL or (Sorry ladies) the WNBA.

As a Laker fan, perhaps I do have bias towards my own team, but let me do say that every other fan must have some for their own team, but in trying to be as subjective as I can I’d like to say:

1. A “past history” rule does sound logical, the Detroit incident and others.
2. However, off the top of my head, I do not recall anyone being banned from the NBA for a direct intentional blow to the head. If it does happen, I would understand but also I’d be very surprised.
3. A complete playoff ban seems like what most people are agreeing upon and the NBA may just do this, which if the Lakers happened to get very far, is the equivalent of 10-20+ games depending on how far they get. (That is ALOT of games). The NBA might say something something like (but not exact, of course) 25 games or the entire playoffs, whichever is longer (essentially banning him from the entire playoffs unless the Lakers somehow played a complete 7 game series including the finals–I personally do not think the Lakers will make it that far, I’m just playing ‘what ifs’.)
4. I do agree upon more rough physical play, but not of the likes of what MWP did–I entirely agree that it does not belong in the NBA or anywhere for that matter.
5. People saying Laker fans delusional and such etc. etc. (I know everyone hates our team and us), but to be fair realistically, all fans are the same (everyone knows this but probably won’t admit it). AND, almost all Laker fans I know and have seen wanted to amnesty, trade, bench, send to D-League etc…MWP. I am in agreement that he should not be on our team and would much rather have someone else play (Laker fans know his sometimes ‘game-saving contribution’ is minimal).

tl;dr: If MWP gets banned forever, to set precedence, understandable but not likely. Long game ban? More likely. The actual hit?- Complete in opposition against. Most Laker fans would rather him not to play anyways (we’d rather Barnes or Ebanks be in the rotation), so if you think of it like that, we aren’t trying to defend him because we want him to play.

whoever think harden was wrong for coming close to that a-hole is an idiot. this is basketball, body bumps everytime.
and for you all still defending that a-hole for his “unintentional” elbow swing, if you ever play any sports with physical contact i sincerely hope you got “unintentional” elbow on the very same spot as harden took. we will see how your opinion after.

Harden was wrong and bodies does not need to bump everytime you’re on the court, especially on an inbound play. Oh wait, that was not even an inbound play. It was a deadball situation and Harden was trying to block MWP’s path of celebration. OK imagine this, if Westbrook just dunked on Bynum and Bryant and and celebrated and MWP blocked his path then that is like a taunting move on MWP’s part, right ?
But anyway, MWP, because of the unnecessary sway of the elbow, although I really don’t think he intended to connect the way he connected, and because of his history (too bad), it is just right that he get suspended.

now, shouldnt the fact that artest is not new to this kind of stunts be taken into account when deciding how much to keep him out? a recidivous criminal getsheavier sentences, this should apply to basketball and sports in general too

i agree with the term of a suspension in that case i mean regardless of the injured players recovery time a flagrant 2 should never happen in the first place i know MWP and James harden personally they played in the drew league out here in La’s drew league with me over the lockout and watching the foul made me sick to my stomach Blake Griffin has been the recipient of about 3 flagrant 2 fouls Ive seen this year and its starting to get out of control play basketball or go to the UFC people don’t expect to see things like this in a basketball game its not even about out preforming the other player any more its about take him out and we can win James Harden means more to the thunder then MWP means to the Lakers he’s arguably there best player efficiency wise and i honestly am just curious to how this will be handled

Artest/Peace’s elbow jab to Harden was one of the worst things I have ever seen. Radio’s been talking about it, television’s been showing it. Even Twitter blew up with the possibility that Artest’s actions resembled a bounty. And I can see why: Oklahoma City beat the Lakers twice; Lakers don’t want to get swept in the regular season cause if they do, they would automatically lose in the playoffs if they faced them.

Imagine if the Lakers came to a consensus that the only way they could beat the Thunder was to commit a flagrant foul on one of their teammates. Just look at the attacks on Blake Griffin by Jason Smith and Robin Lopez: each player used cheap shots not only to prevent a dunk or because Griffin’s a poor free throw shooter. Griffin’s the face of the Clippers franchise – take out the face, the body becomes useless. Their confidence is shattered, the team breaks down and the opponent wins. That’s exactly what happened for the New Orleans Hornets and Phoenix Suns, and it’s exactly what happened to the Lakers. By Artest taking out James Harden (instinctual or unintentional, I don’t care), the Oklahoma City Thunder was out of sync and lost without him. The Lakers stole that game with that cheap shot. This game set an ugly precedent where it’s okay to take out a key player with a career-threatening attack just to win a game. And the worst part of that was Robin Lopez of the Suns got away without a suspension. It’s like getting acquitted of murder!

The NBA needs to change their rules so that it doesn’t become the NFL or NHL. We’ve already gone through the New Orleans Saints scandal. We don’t want another bounty scandal here. Might I suggest these penalties. And they are HARSH. So harsh, it could cost the team a chance at the playoffs.

1. Fine the player.
2. Find the FRANCHISE, to discourage bounties.
3. Suspend the player x amount of games until the victim recovers.
4. Team forfeits a game. So, in the case of Lakers-Thunder, this game would have not counted towards their win column. Had the Lakers LOST, they would have lost an additional game. All forfeitures take effect at the end of the season.

Some chrome bracelets, anger management and extended time off probably isn’t enough to get MWP’s head right. Temporary insanity isn’t a defense. That’s why they’re called ‘professionals’. It takes a lot to not be stable enough to play as a pro. MWP has got what it takes.

The elbow was bad, no question about it. But I also have reasons to believe there was a little flop there. If MWP really connected with that elbow swing, Harden would either be bloodied or knocked out.

Hey Metta, just change your name back already. It seems as if you wanted to change your name to escape the past. Well it doesn’t work that way dude, change your heart, change your attitude, change your character, and then and only then you can change your name. Just because you changed your name to M…W…PEACE doesn’t mean you’re a changed person for the better… you’re showing that you’re still the same’ol Ron Artest, just older thaz all.

That was probably the dirtiest move i’ve ever seen in the NBA. It’s disgusting. He should be suspended for the entire playoffs and fined as harsh as possible. He doesn’t deserve to wear an NBA uniform, much less a Laker one. If that elbow would have caught Harden in the right spot, his career could have been over. “World Peace” is literally a mentally ill person and the last thing he should be doing is being on the national stage showing us all what a role model he is.

Punishment should have nothing to do with how much time Harden misses. In a world where pro sports leagues are becoming more and more cognitive to player safety, RON ARTEST SHOULD BE PERMENENTLY REMOVED FROM THE NBA. He obviously didnt learn his lesson in Indiana, and there is no place for what he did, in any sport. Even more maddening, is the fact that he lied about that being an accident. Are you serious Ron? You are a F’ing idiot.

… i am an avid laker fan (die-hard) … ron artest should be suspended for life playing in the nba … then removed from the lakers roster … then revoke the citizenship award … then stripped of his metta world peace name … he thinks he is tough enough … then let him join the ufc

The league should watch again the video and look very attentively to Artest’s eyes when throwing his elbow.
I think it’s clear his “gesture” was 200% intentional.
Supspend him for the entire 2012 post-season and suspend him for 82 games next season.

If anyone who can lose control and hurt someone like Artest probably have some kind of mental problems. If he intend to do what he did, then he should not be an NBA player, if he have mental illness, then he shouldn’t even be near the court. The conclusion is lock him up…

Absoultely not, with this kind of logic: reckless driving & playing with guns should not be looked at seriously unless there is a death or injury involved!!! This is insane. This “Professional Athlete” makes millions of $$ and is being looked at as a representative for this sweet game, as a result of all of us supporting the game by buying tickets & NBA gear. Myself & my family don’t attend these events to watch fights, my kids love the game & I want to see them happy without picking that bad behaviour can go unpanished especially from a guy with reputation no matter how you sugar-coat your name & charity contributions. There is another game called UFC that you might want to join, and by the way, I dont’ allow my 4 yrs old to watch UFC yet, should I add NBA to the banned program list?
Ban him from even being in an Arena for the rest of his life & send the right message to the leage, players & fans out there in this game & other non-combative games. Enough is enough. Don’t wait for one of these guys to die on the court because of some “barbaric” celebration styles. It is not only Ron Artest, but this game keeps on getting more Physical year after year, and it is about time to stop. Unless the league wants these incidents to gain more attention?? Pending Answer!.

Guys, I am from a small country, who used to play basketball far away from US in amateur leagues, but I have been involved in some hard hits and fights on court during my career unfortunately.. but I have never seen anything like that. You can even die from a hit like that.
The way I see it, and sorry Laker fans, but this guy should never play again. I remember what he did in Detroit, and then how hard he tried to change. I really liked the way he recovered from that one year suspension. I really feel sorry about him as a person, because he is a kind of victim too… But this league is watched by millions of kids all over the World. These guys are idols for them.
There has to be a strong message from David Stern now. Artest has to leave the court for good.

I am a Lakers fan forever, I like WMP the way he play, but we dont need this type of incidents be sport man, we already have a lot of lakers haters and we don’t need anymore of this, sometimes I feel ashamed of being a lakers fan.follow the steps of others legens like Kareem , Magic , Rambi, Byron, Coop.and so on be hated because you’re good player but not for this type of behaivor.Hopely this not mess with the Lakers image because they are one of the greates teams in the NBA.

Stop calling this guy Metta World Peace. He should be addressed by sportscasters, sportswriters, fans, etc. as Ron Artest. This guy brings shame to the League and also to the name. The guys should be suspended for the remainder of the post-season and then extended the next season maybe for 20 games.

Why do so many of these posts start of with “all you laker fans…” followed by something that has nothing to do with the incident. The foul was hard and flagrant. Anyone that says he should be arrested is an idiot. These guys are grown men who get paid (a lot) to play in an extremely physical game that runs high on emotions. Players should get arrested for fighting with fans, not an elbow to an opposing player. Harden definitely made no effort to get out of the way, he was simply looking to draw a technical/aggressive reaction by being in MWP’s face…clearly he got a reaction, but not one he was really ready for.

If MWP wasn’t a severe repeat offender I would guess 3 games + 50K but I think this one is going to earn him at least five games.

Laker Fans… what if Ron Artest had done this 3 years ago with the Rockets when he was cheking Kobe?… would you be all “It’s OK, it was an accident!!!”? I remember how you all where crying foul just because Artest was playing hard defense… honestly I wish he would have decked Kobe 3 years ago rather than Harden on Sunday. I hope the Clippers or Mavs sweep the Flakers again this year, with teh exception of Gasol all the Flakers are brute thugs, i.e. Odom and Bynum in their last game against the Mavs last year in the semis. You guys just need to put you Flaker Pride aside and start thinking like human beings… stop being a bunch of CHOLOS!!!!

When you hit anything with an elbow with that force, you notice. The least he could do if it was’nt intentional was to apologize at the exact moment as he did when he hitted JJ Barea the past play-offs. But no, he even wanted to fight Ibaka. It was intentional…

The NBA should establish precedent once and for all and write down in which cases they will take action and in which cases they will refer to local authorities and process players with criminal charges. This is escalating and we are only waiting for the day when a player hits another player with a chair. Then what?

A long time ago I was a Pacer Fan. But with Ron Artest’s antics in Detroit and the loss of Reggie Miller and Byrd’s being a player apologist I lost my affection for the team and the game. It’s become more like intramural prisoner hockey played by the worst criminal elements of society now-a-days. Peace (Artest) is just one of a pitiful hoard of examples.

Where were all these comments when Raja Bell flipped Kobe by the throat and everyone was laughing and saying Kobe deserved it. This has been a long time coming and yes the league should give MWP a hefty fine and suspension, but the league has to be responsible too. I watched D Wade put his foot behind Rondo flip him over and break his arm and nothing happened. Broke Kobe’s nose in a pick up game nothing happened. Hit a guy last week nothing happened. D Wade plays just like MWP if you watch him. But the league turns a blind eye. So its just not MWP its a few another players as well. NBA you should be ashamed of yourselves. You better make sure the fine you give Metta is the fine you want to dish out to your favorite players too.

the lakers aint gonna do any damage in the playoffs anyways, make an example of “World Peace” the way Goodel just did to the Saints. Do I think he meant to concuss Harden? No. Do I think he meant to clock him? Hell ya. He clotheslined Barea, he still runs his mouth, he just elbowed Harden…he is the same Artest he always has been. He wont change. and with the exception of the past 2 weeks, he has been nothing to the team this year. Make him retire. With guys like that, a lot of times you can banish them to the smaller market teams so theyre out of the spotlight, but they tried that with Sacramento and Houston. Wont ever work.

For the record, Im going on 20 years of being a Laker fan, im not some Laker hater ranting. Im someone who loves the game and believes violence has no place in it.

Steve, it is clear that recovery may be affected by many factors. Those factors need to be taken in consideration by all “professional players” before committing an aggression of this type. One thing is to be aggressive in your game, but striking a player in such a way shouldn’t be permitted at all. Let’s not forget that this is not a rare conduct in this player and that he has been violent in the past, even with the fans. I think it’s an excellent opportunity for the NBA to send a message to those types of players that if they want to earn their millions in the best professional league, they need to behave as the best professionals, if not they should try the NFL, MMA or RAW.

its disgusting how Lakers fans defend this. He needs to admit he was wrong, if Artest did this to Kobe or Fisher a few years back you would be up in arms. MAN UP and take repsonsibility for your actions.

He shouldn’t be suspended… he should be ARRESTED! If someone did that to someone on the streets and it was filmed you can bet the person would be in jail. I’m disgusted by the Lakers fans who are defending this and acting as if it is somehow Hardin’s fault! That’s almost on par with saying a rape victim is guilty because of something she wears. Does anyone remember another incident by an L.A. Laker that almost killed Tomjonovich? http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20072182,00.html

NBA better take this seriously before THEY ARE COMPLICIT in someone’s death by looking the other way!

I saw the infamous Detriot-Indiana game, I’ve seen the replays of various incidents involving Ron, and let me tell you this one is NOT the same. Frankly, I was dumbfounded as I skimmed through the comments posted by my peers. Clearly none of you have EVER made a great play during a game. I, myself, have made unintentional contact with others and have witnessed accidental injuries between an emotionally charged player and other players during game play. Allow me to reiterate, this is NOT the same as Indiana or the other clear intentional uses of force. Of course one can argue, out of all the emotional NBA players, why is it that Ron is the only one involved in such an odd occurrence. I KNOW Ron has a history and I would not be surprised if he has “issues”, but gentlemen I saw the game and I saw no malicious intent. That being said, I hope Harden makes a speedy recovery.

Well, truly Harden took what he didn’t expect, he went to mess with the wrong guy.
Harden’s history shows he is a great flopper, look on youtube the Harden flop on Tyson Chandler.
Another thing is he likes to push and talk and be a prick in court, he is a great prick, well, Harden just messed with the wrong guy, When you mess up with Artest you pay for what you get.
Artest should be suspended, right, but for the same length as Harden is out of the court, this is a great comparison.

Artest didn’t blow Harden’s head purposely, it was supposed to be an albow shove, a technical foul, but Harden just loves to have his face right there and he took in well and got knocked out good. It was def better than Jon Jones vs Rashad Evan, Jones couldn’t even knock out Rashad, all Artest needed was an elbow, he learned from Mr. Jon Jones.

Anyone who thinks Harden initiated this incident is an idiot. All the players were clearly running back, both on the offensive and defensive side. MWP and Harden just happened to be on the same path and you can obviously tell that MWP felt someone up on him. It doesn’t look like he had a clue as to who it was, never the less he swung an elbow knowing he was going to hit someone. A well placed elbow to the head with that much force can actually kill someone. He knew he hit someone and still ran off and on top of that, took a stance as if he was going to be in a brawl.

He should definitely be not playing this year and they should think about banning him from the league for at least a season, until he can prove he is psychologically fit to come back.

Then why did Harden intentionally step to the left twice to get in front of artest..put his body on him when it was a dead play? if he was trying to get the ball, why didnt he try and go for the ball? not run in front of an opposing player? he was on offense, not defense, you try to get away from opposing players when you’re on offense….think about it…watch the replay more carefully. its obvious. That being said, i think ron should be suspended for the rest of the season, including playoffs. i say again, they’re both idiots.

I usually only watch the Spurs, Rockets (and the playoffs – Mavericks) but after I saw what this ridiculously named “World Peace” did and this man’s history, I can’t believe a suspension is even being discussed. The NBA needs to make an example out of this repeat offender and bar him from playing FOREVER. He doesn’t deserve the big dollars he’s making… I don’t care if he IS a good player. There are more important things than talent. This should be taken seriously with all the news about the dangers of concussion. I’m shocked there is even a question as to what they are going to do. I’m disgusted by the whole ordeal. I’m also disgusted at Kobe defending him… disturbing!

The elbow wich MWP threw on Harden was wrong indeed, but think about it… He had just a great dunk and while celebrating Harden really has to come stand in his way.. in front of him.. Tell me why exactly he needed to do that? What Harden did was irritating, and yes MWP was wrong but I still understand his reaction…

Ron Artest never deserved to play basketball, much due to his conduct, that I never remember ever having been exemplary, it then goes beyond any limit that is imposed on the conduct that should be a player. If I believe what Ron says, that was not seen James Harden, who at least had the dignity and adimiti is what he did, because even though Ron had not seen, certainly feel that nudge.

If you are going to kick WMP out of the league for a flagrant 2 foul, you better be ready to kick a whole lot of other players out of the NBA also. Not saying what WMP did was right but take a look around the league and tally up how many flagrant 2 fowls are taking place. The NBA needs to address ALL flagrant 2 fouls and the penalties for them.

don’t just look whether the victim is a role player or a star player, the main issue is the action he did, the nba should be strict in implementing those rules, the players should know the actions they did, and accept what ever penalty was given.

I hopes hes one for the rest of the season. We dont need excuses for what he did. He did that to Barea last Year. He knew exactly what he was doing. I hate to think that the Lakers organization had something to do with it. Im just curious why the team did not take action for his behavior…

MWP should get 20-30 games for this. if not, then someone needs to do it to Kobe. MWP did not even go over to see how Harding was, he knew exactly what he did. and if it was not bad enough, he was ready to fight Ibaka. you can change your name, but you can’t change crazy. the NBA should just get rid of this fool.

1) Any flagrant-2 must be punished with a suspension according to the severity of the act. In my opinion, for MWP, watching the video and taking into account Ron Artest’s history, it shouldn’t be less than 20 games.
2) In case that a flagrant-2 foul causes an injury to an opponent player, a transient suspension will occur immediately. The suspension described in 1) will start to count AFTER the recovery of the player injured.

I believe that the most fair that could be done in this case is the complete suspension of the season .. it was a very immature part of it. that’s why I say that the Lakers were champions before but it got out the bus now LOl

I was hoping someone else would agree to linking the suspension to the recovery time. I believe any intentional hit that could cause injury should incur a minimum of injury time plus three games. In MWP’s case, his past will always follow him and should bump it up to injury time plus five games.

I work with people who have Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and coach youth sports. It is widely recommended to, essentially, put the person on bed-rest for 72 hours after a concussion. They should have as little sensory input as possible for that time frame. This is a standard time frame for those in the field. I cannot understand how professional sports disrespects their players so much by not following this model.

I also have a TBI from multiple concussions suffered while playing sports and car accidents. I wish I had never gone back into the football and basketball games that I played in with concussions. The damage is PERMANENT.

With that said, I am able to work full-time, have a job and lead a pretty normal life with a TBI. The problem is memory issues. I hate to think that the NBA is allowing the type of damage I have to occur to their players.

I have no words for MWP’s action and I also have no words for the people who actually applauded when MWP left the basketball court. It all is very unrespectful. MWP should be punished heavily for his action in the sense of suspending him for the remainder of the season, including the play offs altogether. Don’t link it to the victim’s recovery, link it to the player who did it and let him feel it so he learns from it (if he has that ability).

I have words for the NBA. It’s time for the NBA to show the NBA fans that they will not tolerate intentional fouls to the head of any players. The punishment for WORLD PEACE should be severe to put a end of this type behavior on the NBA courts.
Do not tie it to the injured players recovery time. WORLD PEACE formally known as RON ARTEST has shown us for many years that he has a behavior problem. His wimpy excuses are falling on deaf ears. This man has not the capacity to learn from his behavior problems on the NBA courts. I SAY TO THE NBA to give this BEHAVIOR PROBLEM-ED PLAYER A PERMANENT SUSPENSION FROM EVER PLAYING ON A NBA COURT FOR EVER!!!! IT’S TIME FOR THE NBA TO SHOW THE FANS THAT THIS TYPE BEHAVIOR WILL NOT BE TOLERATED…….

Artest should be suspended for the rest of this season; including the whole playoffs. I think it’s ridiculous to discuss any type of shorter suspension. His action was extremely violent & dangerous and NBA management has to send a clear/strong message that it’s totally unacceptable.

What MWP did was a disgrace to the Lakers! He knew that James Harden was there….smh i mean he had to feel James right beside him! Also who throws their elbows when celebrating?! The punishment should be 5 game suspension and some fines ! Thats my opinion

Okay, let’s say there can be a controversy about the fact it was an accident or not (the fact it didn’t occur during a play doesn’t help MWP anyway…) But there’s something that can’t be controversial: MWP hit James Harden and then jogged away like nothing happened! To me, that’s the worse part of it and the reason why he should be suspended. If someone badly sends an elbow to the face of somebody, unintentionally, I guess the first reaction would be “ooops, I’m sorry, are you okay?” Just like Tyrus Thomas did against the Wizards…

why would steve blake be there? to block mwp’s path celebrating? to play D like what harden did? lol i dont get this “imagine if a teamate was beside him” argument lol… harden didnt wait for the ball to get inbound, he was behind mwp dunking, he saw where mwp is heading, he wanted mwp to get tech/gesture/whatever.. stop this nonsense lol.

im not saying mwp shouldnt be punished. he should get 5+ games suspension and fine. and then move on ^^

Isn’t Dennis Rodman in the Hall of Fame?? I hope David Stern and the NBA don’t listen to the media and fans on this one as I don’t think do on most decisions because he clearly should get suspended for the elbow. I saw the Charlotte and Wizards game last night when another James; James Singleton got smacked in the face with a swinging elbow that knocked him to the ground, yes he got up but where is the outrage for his elbow.

MWP should get heavy fine. When his in other team he always wanna fight, do dirty move to other players. Imagine he do it in the Playoff. I feel that he should get fine and suspended. Suspended 1 to 3 games too little. Nba should try 5 – 10games depend on seriousness. It be better if Lakers team pay the fine too, for failure discipline their players. Nba is a professional sports. so Nba should really consider giving heavy punishment for MWP.

It’s just sad that some people try to defend MWP and his act as being ‘unintentional.’ You all say the replay, that blow clearly was intentional. Laker fan or not, we’re all human beings and it’s a pity some of you seem rather pleased than disgusted by what WorldPeace did. He should change back to Ron Artest, his current name doesn’t suit him at all.

It was a day where hard fouls were glorified. Every year players have fist fights on the court. Every year players throw elbows, and wrap guys around the neck. Nobody is ever banned from the NBA. If you think what Ron did was that bad you shouldn’t be watching NBA basketball to begin with. This stuff happens a lot. Maybe not that hard, that wide out in the open, and on ABC but it happens.

Kevin Love stomped Louis Scola’s face while he was on the ground with full intent. He got two games suspension and most NBA fans probably don’t even know that happened because it was one of the leagues superstars.

D Wade shoved Rip down like some thug making no play on the ball and Rip wasn’t even moving. Wade just flattened him out of nowhere. The league didn’t do him anything because he’s one of the superstars.

I think it’s unfair how Artest is being treated by the media, and fans who thinks he tried to kill a man smh

wow, i hat seeing comments of lakers fans that it was unintentional, oh yeah i saw harden getting close to mwp, but i knew that he was trying to get the inbounds, nba should do the right thing here, because harden might have died there,

First let say that I hope James Harden recovers quickly. Let me also say that I don’t think it was intentional but that doesn’t mean the punishment should be any different. Regardless of Mr. WP’s history good and bad because he did get the citizenship award last year, you just can swing violently in a basketball game or for that matter any sport. Someone else is always around in team sports. With that said, I think a 3 game suspension is warranted 1 game regular season and 2 games playoffs. A side bar of blame should go the Lakers and Kobe, without him resting MWP would not have woken the beast up!!

I’m 100% sure Ron didn’t intend to clean the guy out. Looks like his emotions were just so high that when James bumped him he fluidly in his motion of chest beating decided to try to bump the guy back off of him and it happened to end up being an ugly shot to the head. I think he deserves his punishment whatever that may be, but I’m certain he didn’t plan that out and try to seriously hurt the guy. I think it’s a shame how the media is trying to make him out to be a criminal for this.

Artest Has a record of bad behavior that is greater than any other player’s. THE LAKERS SHOULD HAVE SAID “THANKS BUT NO THANKS” REGARDING ARTEST’S CONTRACT. THIS IS NOT WWF SMACKDOWN!GET RID OF “METTA WORLD WAR” BEFORE HE AIMS ANOTHER ELBOW AT SOMEBODY WITH FATAL RESULTS!

It is extremely COUNTERPRODUCTIVE to badmouth a player you’re trying to trade to another team because the guy from the other team will say:”Yeah? If Artest is as big a loser as you say he is how come you’re trying to unload him on us?” THE OTHER TEAM DOESN’T NEED TO KNOW THAT. ALL THE OTHER TEAM NEEDS TO KNOW IS THIS:”We
need some new players and Mr. Artest is the best trade bait we have.” LET THE OTHER TEAM DISCOVER FOR THEMSELVES WHAT A LOUSY PLAYER RON ARTEST IS. THEN IT WILL BE UP TO THE OTHER TEAM TO DISPOSE OF HIM AS THEY SEE FIT.

Ron Artest clearly did it intentionally and did not even look to see who he hit.
The NBA should punish him severely because he is a repeat offender.
This is not the first and sure as hell would not be the last time he does foolishness like this.

It is up to Commissioner David Stern to MAKE IT THE LAST TIME MR. ARTEST INJURES ANOTHER PLAYER SERIOUSLY ENOUGH TO CAUSE MR. HARDEN’S FAMILY TO SUE THE BRITCHES OFF MR. ARTEST AND ANY OTHER HOODLUM WHO COMES OFF THE BASKETBALL COURT! AND IT IS UP TO THE FANS TO BOYCOTT THE NBA UNTIL COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN PUTS A PERMANENT STOP TO THE THUGGISH ACTIONS OF MR. ARTEST AND OTHERS LIKE HIM!AND IT WOULDN’T HURT TO BOYCOTT EVERY SINGLE SNEAKER COMPANY ON THE MARKET UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE!

Look, to beat your chest means you’re pulling your arms towards your body. To elbow someone in the head like that you need to be moving your elbow away from you body, and with force too. Artest has averaged 14 points per game over his career – you can’t do that without having coordination. Now can anyone explain to me how someone with good coordination can completely miss his chest with his left hand (Look at the top video @ 18 seconds)???
Fact of the matter is it was completely intentional, and anyone who disagrees needs their eyes examined. And for someone who thikns he’s the tough guy he hasn’t even got the balls to come out and admit the truth. The guy’s a liability in the league, and the league need to come down hard on him.
And another thing….. Who the hell keeps comparing him to Dennis Rodman??? Rodman was a bad boy, but a bad boy with game. Please stop comparing this guy to a Hall of Famer & 2 time defensive player of the year.

lol are you blind or your pretending your one if tim duncan or grant hill did that i would say it was unintentional but it was mwp he should be banned for life nba is not ufc you cant elbow someone on the head and say ooops sorry my bad!

1. Harden was not tryin to get the ball inbound pls stop saying this, he was behind mwp, he saw him dunking, he saw where mwp path is heading, HE WANTED A REACTION/TECHNICAL/GESTURE FROM MWP AND HE GOT IT.

2. Even though Harden was the one who bumped mwp, he even stepped to the side twice to block mwp’s path. it even looked like he was playing D on mwp after the dunk. EVEN THOUGH HARDEN DID IT, MWP SHOULDNT HAVE ELBOWED HIM THAT HARD.

3. MWP INTENTIONALLY ELBOWED HARDEN. Its a “get out of my way” move.

4. MWP DID NOT INTENTIONALLY TRIED TO ELBOW HARDENS HEAD/NECK, IT JUST HAPPENED HE HIT HIM THERE

I agree with you as well, except for the fact that he intentionally hit him in the head, he knew where he was, where Harden was, and where his elbow was going, it was swung up high. What do you think he thinks is up there? His torso? NO, pretty sure Ron is smart enough to figure out a head sits up that high, not a body. Common sense. The rest you got right. They’re both idiots.

If you look at the tape you can see he asks Ibaka “What did I do” when Ibaka started going after him.

Ban him from the NBA — ridiculous
Under that logic anytime a fight broke out and punches were thrown then you would have to ban everybody who threw a punch because clearly they intended to throw the punch. What about all the players who have intentionally thrown an elbow but missed its target? They too would have to be banned from the nba.

Tie his suspension to Hardens injury — ridiculous and Aschburner is clueless to even suggest it. It isn’t remotely workable.

I also agree with a lot of the comments that state Harden had no business getting in Metta’s way.

BS. He is facing Harden when he throws the elbow. MWP is a grown man, not a baby that has no control of his surroundings. Try to make up all the excuses you want, that was as disgusting a play as I’ve ever seen on the court.

Looking at the situation i notice that Harden moves a tiny little to Ron Artest. A player celebrating might feel offended though the degree of offense might be different for various personalities and in that case it hit somebody that has some selfcontrol issues. Not wanting to look weak Ron Artest ran through whoever was staying infront of him and for a split second at first contact he might not have known who it was but at the end eventhough he didnt turn to look who is on the ground he could see from the corner anyway. he pulled that elbow through no matter what even if his first second reasoning might be understandable it was not acceptable to fully continue that swing with full force.

he needs a playoff suspension making a case not to allow such a behaviour in professional sports.

Harden’s fault for trying to initiate contact. Watch the replay and tell me I’m wrong. With that said, Artest shouldn’t have thrown that elbow. Both of them got what they deserved. Lakers are fine without Artest but OKC needs Harden to succeed in the playoffs.

James Harden deserved it too he always bumps people like a tough guy when they make plays like that… if you haven’t notice james harden is a punk and he just got punked by a real man… even serge ibaka always tries to act tough along with kendrick perkins… i remember a game where he was screaming at vince carter and now he faced a real tough guy and iv’e seen ibaka scared out of his balls cause he knew ron artest would have whooped him bad lol…punk and a sissy in one team… stop crying

Theres is NO squirming out of this one. Ron Artest (I hesitate to call him “Peace” after this one) clearly meant to do that. He was probly getting pissy with Harden earlier in the game and took it out there with that quick snap. He saw Harden coming towards him and when he bumped into him Artest bowed him. The only fair punishment I see for this gruesome act is a supsension for the rest of the regular season and every single playoff game the Lakers play this post-season. He has a history of violence and he just cemented it one more time. Dirty player, he’s also insane too. Hence why he donates money and raises awareness about mental illness because it is self beneficial for him. HAHAHA. Lakers will do better without him anyways.

looks bad ?!
this is not dunk celebration, this is elbow shot right in the face

man i thought this guy had already some chance to calm down from his trouble maker past
changing life, changing city, changing team, changing name, you’ll never change who you are inside
being a danger for others now, he’ll be a danger for himself soon

Wow. Durant was the closest among the thunder on the court but he did not do anything to confront Artest. The same with Westbrook. He run at first but stopped when he was meters away from Artest. They have waited for Ibaka to come who was still under the rim during the incident.

Tomorrow we may find out Ron Artest’s fate. Let’s hope he never plays in the NBA again. A lengthy suspension in the very least is in order. Artest is such a loser. He needs to check into a mental hospital and get a new brain….he is such a loser.

Hear Hear! Yes Ron Artest DOES NEED TO GO! He’s NO GOOD! And neither is the NBA for giving Artest such stupidly INADEQUATE PENALTIES! We NEED TO BOYCOTT THE NBA!AND WE SHOULDN’T STOP THERE. THE NFL, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL and THE NHL SHOULD ALL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THE NBA INTO THE ABYSS! The sneaker manufacturers should likewise be boycotted.

I detest the Lakers so much. Kobe is such a vain and arrogant player. What about Ron Artest? His new name is ridiculous. I don’t understand why some NBA players have to disrespect the names their moms gave them and change them to something ridiculous like Metta World Peace. I hate Ron Artest and I hope he never plays in the NBA again. James Harden could have died on Sunday. I hope the cursed Lakers never win another championship. They are a bunch vain and arrogant SOBS. My one wish is another team other than the stupid Lakers wins the championship this year.

May Metta World War get suspended forever. That was the worst cheap shot I have ever seen in the NBA in all my life. I hope the cursed Lakers never win another championship. Hollywood too vain and ugly in my view. Ron Artest should be a mental patient somewhere. He does not belong in the NBA. I hope he rots in hell.

Artest can start writing his post-season rap song, because Artest doesnt deserve to Play ANYMORE, certainly in the playoffs.

Either way… STERN is stern… and he won’t shy from his name. although Worold Peace definitely did
The simple fact that OKC didnt retalliate, Stern has to do it for them…. AND ARTEST STAY TRYING TO FIGHT !!! AFTER HE THREW THE ELBOW, TRYING TO SQUARE UP WITH SERGE, sit down.

The hooligan strikes again! Nothing new… and they even gave him a comunity award last year! Someone should die before they realize this bully does not belong to any league, not to meantion his ugly plays that he is known for. And who the heck let this ignorant thug carry the name World Peace?! This is disgrace…

I TOTALLY AGREE Knicks junkie. Ron Artest MUST be held accountable for his actions. But the PUNISHMENT MUST GREATLY EXCEED THE CRIME SO NOBODY WILL EVER DO IT AGAIN! You and I can see to it that Ron Artest gets
his due by BOYCOTTING EVERY SINGLE SNEAKER COMPANY ON THE PLANET! We can also BOYCOTT the NBA and KEEP BOYCOTTING THE NBA UNTIL RON ARTEST IS GONE FROM BASKETBALL FOR GOOD!

I am sick and tired of the ugly vain Laker fans trying to defend Ron Artest. Ron Artest is a scrub and should get at least 20 games for elbowing beloved James Harden. If I were David Stern, I would ban him for life. About the trash talking Oklahoma City Thunder…the Lakers trash talked everyone when they were winning their championships in the past. It is nice to see them getting a taste of their own medicine. I hope to God the Lakers get eliminated from the playoffs. The Lakers do not deserve to win another championship. My prayers go out to James Harden and his family.

I hope that the NBA UPS THE ANTE EVERY TIME MR. ARTEST IS SUSPENDED FOR ATTEMPTING TO DISABLE ANOTHER PLAYER. THIS LAST TIME IT WAS 7 GAMES. IF Mr. ARTEST DOES IT AGAIN IT SHOULD BE 14;
AND THE NUMBERS SHOULD GO UP FROM THERE IN MULTIPLES OF SEVEN! FURTHERMORE ANY TEAM DISCIPLINARY RECORDS SHOULD SAY THE NAME “RONALD ARTEST”-NOT “METTA WORLD PEACE!”

The duration of his suspension should be determined by an independent psychiatric evaluation of his mental health. If he has any. He might be found psychotic. It could take years to recover if he eventually does. Is he taking any meds currently?

why we are the one putting the severity of punishment for MWP…there is NBA that governs it…James Harden was partly causes this mishap…he is running towards MWP…their strategy to distract Lakers backfires….

IMHO the act was intentional, and the supension must be right. Someone said that he must go off forever. I’m not agree. I think he has done a vary bad thing and it isn’t the first time, but even who kills people releases from prison. Harden has received a hard shot but I think he will come back soon. I think Artest, not World Peace, should be suspended ’till the end of the season.
Greetings from Italy

Ron Artest SHOULD GET THE MAXIMUM PENALTY FOR THROWING THAT ELBOW OF HIS AT JAMES HARDEN.LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN! AND HIS TEAM SHOULD TAKE A HIT, TOO, IF ITS
OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT LET MR. ARTEST BACK ON THE COURT TO ELBOW PEOPLE AGAIN. Because the NEXT time Artest throws an elbow it could be at a REFEREE! THEN MR. ARTEST SHOULD BE THROWN OUT OF BASKETBALL FOR LIFE, WITH NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED AND NO QUESTIIONS ASKED!

at the end of the day, ron artest shouldn’t be in the NBA. he’s a dirt player and he’s always trying to intentionally cause problems. he tries to act like he’s some angel, selling his rings and buying tickets for fans to go to games, but that’s no excuse for how he acts on the court.

this was CLEARLY intentional, anyone who says otherwise either doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about, or are simply Laker fans that don’t want to see Artest miss important playoff games.

reading some of these comments make me laugh. people trying to claim that Harden shouldn’t have been bumping into Artest while he’s celebrating? the Lakers brought the game within 1, it was nearing the end of the half and Harden was paying attention to the ball being inbounded, not what that ape Artest was doing.

artest has had one too many chances, he doesn’t deserve to be in the league, and i really hope the league takes proper action on this one. he shouldn’t have been given a second chance after the detroit incident, now he’s intentionally injuring players. and if the NBA is smart, they WILL do the right thing, because Harden is an up-and-coming star, he could have seriously been injured, which would be a large money loss for the NBA. i know that isn’t exactly the nicest way to view it, but let’s face it, the NBA is a business and they’re all money hungry. that’s what this is all about.

I am a true laker fan, but such acts should not be encouraged, he might be a good player, but he certainly is not a good human being and not at all worthy to be in the LAKERS team, after seeing the tape only the most stupid people would say that wasnt intentional

I like Ron Artest..he is not Ron Ron and not MWP after what he just did
He knows and admits he has issues…what he did was wrong and everytime I look at the reply I cringe. Having said that I sit here scratching my head at what James Hardin was attempting to do when bumping into him…I mean he deliberately walks to the left so he can walk right into him…Its Ron Artest bro…use your head haha…no pun intended

One other thing for those using the ‘he didnt see him’ excuse. Not even taking into account that harden bumps into him before MWP swings his elbow, you do realize after the dunk he turns around and has complete clear view of the entire floor including those players in front of him. i.e JAMES HARDEN. Seriously think before the whole, ‘oh he had no time to know/notice where Harden was’ its just as bad as MWP not admitting it was a cheap shot and acting innocent.

I don´t think is fair to base the duration of a suspension in the recovery time of the guy injured. What if, for example, a player commits an intentional foul to prevent an easy basket and, unfourtunately, injures the attacker whitout the intention to do so?
And as laker fan: I saw the play live, and the first replays too and I think is difficult to try to defend that as not on purpose, seriusly right to the head…I love MWP for his defense and enthusiasm but this…Just say sorry and wait for the punishment Metta.
I apologyze for my english, is not mi first language.

What Ron Artest did negatively impacted an entire team AND THE BOOK SHOULD BE THROWN AT HIM FOR DOING IT. Besides he was ENGAGING IN A SHOWBOATING CELEBRATION AFTER DUNKING A BASKETBALL, WHICH MAKES HIM A “ME” PLAYER, RATHER THAN A TEAM PLAYER. THE SOONER HE GETS HIS UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE THE BETTER!

You don’t throw elbows like that no matter who or where you are. If the OKC weren’t as cool as they were we could have had another brawl involving Ron Artest (or MWP, whatever) and we all remember how ugly it was last time. One way to look at it is if it wasn’t Ron Artest doing it, but it was and we all know who he is and what he does. If any of us did what he did we would get fired, arrested and et cetera. But now everyone is talking about a 5 game suspension for hiting someone with an elbow directly to the neck/head area? That wasnt unintentional and that wasnt basketball. If you can’t play basketball you need to stay away from the court. Suspend him for the rest of the season for how long or short it might be to the Lakers so that he would have some time to figure out whether he is a basketball player or a criminal on the street.

THE HOOLIGANS WHO THROW ELBOWS TO OTHER PLAYERS SHOULD BE SUSPENDED, NOT FINED BECAUSE THE AMOUNT THEY ARE FINED IS A DROP IN THE BUCKET TO THOSE WHO MAKE MILLIONS! Mr. ARTEST IS JUST THAT-A HOOLIGAN OF THE WORST KIND! THE NEXT TIME MR. ARTEST ATTACKS ANOTHER PLAYER IT SHOULD COST HIM PLENTY!LIKE HIS CARWEER IN BASKETBALL AND ANY HALL OF FAME ELIGIBILITY HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN LINE FOR HAD HE NOT ELBOWED MR. HARDEN! THE NBA HAS ENOUGH IMAGE PROBLEMS WITHOUT HAVING ITS PLAYERS PULLING A “TONYA HARDING” ON THEIR OPPONENTS!

Metta world peace does not reflect his name at all. The blow was intentional and everyone knows. he has a history of being aggressive. Id love to see him pick on someone his own size. He should be suspended for the rest of the season and be fined heavily. If someone were to do that on the streets youd get punished for it, how about doing it live on tv to an nba superstar. This elbow can effect the thunder in so many ways as a team. Its unethical for the nba to allow metta world peace play for the rest of the season. The NBA needs to make an example out of someone and Ron Artest is the perfect guy

One thing I hate is cheap shots, what I hate more is when people like MWP dont admit and OWN up to cheap shots. There is absolutely no way after harden bumped into him that he ‘didn’t know’, who also swings their elbow in such a manner to ‘celebrate’ any hows? No one. He is a repeat offender and it is clear as day that he snapped (yet again) and intentionally threw out an elbow at a player.

The punishment had better match the crime as Harden is a crucial piece in OKC’s playoff bid this year. ANYONE defending this asking for light punishment is either blind or just an fan base that refuses to admit the truth. Oh and don’t even think about saying ‘he wasn’t looking’ He knew exactly where he was swinging that elbow, when u feel a body against you it is easy to know what body positioning you and the opposing player have, do NOT use his visual direction as a cue to innocence, that’s a joke. Im not even an OKC fan, this is a plain as day cheap shot and needs to be dealt with appropriately. SMH

This instead of bringing up debate has brought some of the dumbest conversation, one side wants this another side wants that. How about this, James Harden went close to Artest, Artest is 260 6’7 and James Harden is 6’5 in two seconds we’ve decided that that event was intentional, slow motions makes everything intentional but in two seconds we’ve decided a person not many people liked should get the ultimate punishment at the end of his contract. Personally this is why I don’t understand the supposed love for the NBA because its obvious if the media doesn’t like you every little thing will be torn to shreds. And lastly its obvious from what I read from when he first signed to when he changed his name the people never forgave him and were waiting for the excuse to crucify him.

This is pretty shameful…this previous action is the epitome of world peace (that’s probably sarcasm). The NBA or the Lakers as organizations don’t need this kind of activity to win. Not what I’d want us to be remembered for but then again there’s Bynum. Walking down downtown LA it isn’t so bad but maybe down Long Beach or something we are full of brutes. =/

Oh as for the not seeing James (Harden) comment by Artest, if I “accidentally” hit something with my elbow or hand, I turn and look to see what I knocked over. Artest didn’t even turn or maybe he just didn’t feel it? Just saying…that’s pretty laughable and hard to believe unless he already knew what he hit.

Metta World Peace, Ron Artest and whatever other name he goes by should be kicked out of the NBA. The man is a thug. He attacked fans, he had problems last year, now this. If anyone thinks the hit wasn’t intentional you are dilusional.

If I didn’t know better I would think all of these “kick MWP out of the nba” comments and these multi-game suspension are coming from the saints them self!!!! Really guys, ask yourself this, have you not ever had a lapse of judgement? made a mistake? we all have, its really not fair to throw MWP in the fire… look at the play, look at the type of game it was!! MWP clearly has mental issues just like millions of other people in the world do! it was an intense game! and he had just finished making a great dunk! if you look at his eyes during that play you can clearly see a man loose control for a moment! sure it’s hard to look at but if we went around judging everyone based on there mistakes we would all be burning in the fire along with MWP!!!!

Umm Jesus we know you forgive all but wise up. Someone mentioned it on here that now will be Artest’s 14th suspenstion. 14TH! C’mon man do you really think they should just give this guy the basic punishment or is Jesus a Laker fan?

EVEN FORGIVENESS SHOULD HAVE ITS LIMITS! THERE SHOUILD BE NO WAY FOR MR. ARTEST TO REDEEM HIMSELF AFTER HIS ELBOW TO THE HEAD OF JAMES HARDEN OF THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER. IT IS THE AMERICAN WAY TO BE UN-AMERICAN WITH REGARD TO THE WAY THE NBA PUNISHES THUGGERY WITHIN ITS RANKS! MR. STERN SHOULD SEND THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LEAGUE:”THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRACY. IT IS A DICTATORSHIP! ANY PLAYER WHO ENGAGES IN THUGGISH BEHAVIOR ON THE BASKETBALL COURT WILL FIND HIMSELF ON THE STREET LOOKING FOR A JOB.”

I really want to speak for Metta in this unfortunate accident. There is a thing called contributory negligence/ comparative negligence at the very least. I think harden was careless in wrapping Metta or more precisely, standing in his way while he was running back towards the other side of the court. In fact, Harden had no reason to stand in Metta’s way because OKC was on offense and Harden was supposed to avoid the defender by running away from Metta and Not running into him. So Harden could have avoided the act, but decided not to. Metta certainly has to pay the price because he conducted the act, but his penalty should be reduced.

‘Unfortunate accident’? Are you serious? So you really think that players that stand in the way of other players deserve whatever act of violence that is commited against them? What a cheap way of trying to excuse MWP’s behaviour.

No Mr. Mittbach, NOTHING jusdtifies what MR. ARTEST DID TO MR. HARDEN. THE NBA NEEDS A “NO-CELEBRATIONS” RULE AND THAT RULE NEEDS TO BE ENFORCED! IF IT MEANS RELEASING “METTA WORLD PEACE” FOR VIOLATING IT-AND RELEASING HIM UNCONDITIONALLY THEN SO BE IT! THE NBA DOES NOT NEED HIS SPECIES OF BASKETBALL PLAYER ELBOWING MR. HARDEN OR ANYBODY ELSE OR SHOWBOATING ON THE HARDWOOD DURING AN NBA GAME!

For me, it was really unintentional. It was obvious that MWP was just celebrating after an excellent dunk. Imagine if you are MWP that time, then it is clear that Harden is out of your LINE OF SIGHT. The elbow thing happened so fast that it was clearly unintentional. Why was Harden so close to MWP anyway, maybe Haarden wants to pick up a fight against MWP first unfortunately he was hit by an unintentional elbow and then people are like “OMG Harden is so pitiful, MWP is such worthless guy”. It is like Harden is a criminal that wants to kill a person unfortunately that person is so strong and disabled him first, then the criminal immediately turned into a victim because he was hurt. -_-

Play blind all you want man, I just hope the NBA doesn’t follow your example. I bet you think that Bynum’s clotheslining of JJ Barrea in last years playoffs was ‘unintentional’ as well? Pathetic…MWP’s play was as ugly as it gets, and the punishment should reflect that. He could easily have caused a severe brain damage with his play and should therefore be suspended for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs.

Somebody once made the point that SUSPENSIONS SHOULDS REPLACE FINES IN EVERY AREA OF PUNISHMENT FOR HOCKEY VIOLENCE. WELL THE SAME SHOULD APPLY TO OTHER PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TOO! With his track record Mr. Artest makes a mockery of the name “METTA WORLDPEACE”! He should be made to forfeit eligibility for the BASKETBALL HAME OF FAME FOREVER as a further punishment for his cheap shots. In addition the MANAGEMENT of his team SHOULD BE MADE TO PAY THE BILLS FOR EVERY PLAYER MR. ARTEST DISABLES OR TRIES TO DISABLE ON THE BASKETBALL COURT!

Mr. Artest Should Be PUNISHED TO THE MAX FOR HIS ELBOW TO THE HEAD OF JAMES HARDEN, WHO COULD EASILY HAVE PERISHED AS A RESULT OF MR. ARTEST’S CHEAP SHOT. COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN SHOULD SEND A STRONG MESSAGE THAT SUCH THUGGERY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AND THE NBA WILL NOT SUPPORT THE PERPETRATOR IF HE IS NAMED IN A WRONFUL DEATH LAWSUIT FOR HIS ACTIONS;AND IF THE VICTIM BECOMES A VEGETABLE AS A RESULT OF THE NEXT CHEAP SHOT FROM MR> ARTEST, THE TEAM’S
MANAGEMENT SHOULD BE PUNISHED AS WELL!

Belizeboy, Mr. Artest deliberately elbowed another player and could very easily have KILLED him!ANY DISCIPLINARY RAP SHEET FOR MR. RON ARTEST SHOULD INCLUIDE HIS RIGHT NAME, “RONALD ARTEST,” NOT THE NONSEN-
SICAL NAME MR> ARTEST GOES BY THESE DAYS, “METTA WORLDPEACE”! MR. ARTEST DESERVE#S TO HAVE THE BOOK THROWN AT HIM IF HE DOES IT AGAIN AND IT SHOULD COST HIM HIS CAREER(AND ANY HALL OF FAME ELIGIBILITY HE MIGHT BE IN LINE FOR)! THE MAN IS A THUG AND SHOULD BE DRUMMED OUT OF BASKETBALL!

I encourage the NBA to do the right thing here. You already let him off from the Detroit incident which was in my mind far too generous. He had his second chance already. That was an ugly ugly scene. Watching him deliver the blow that he did yesterday made my eyes water. That was just atrocious! What message will you send to the kids watching your game live or on television? That it’s ok to maliciously try to hurt someone or that there is no room for that in the NBA or any sports? You gave him a second chance already which he should be grateful. He gets paid more money in a year than any of us can imagine in a lifetime. He is not someone to emulate on the court. You need to ban Ron Artest from the NBA. Then maybe Ron can start understanding what he did was wrong. If he wants to he can help others who have emotional and/or temper issues. He can go around showing other people that losing their cool like that is unacceptable and show what he lost in doing so, his job and contract and his ability to play in the NBA. Do the right thing!

Here is where the fans should make their voices heard-REALLY make their voices heard-by BOYCOTTING BOTH THE NBA AND THE SNEAKER COMPANIES THAT PAY THESE HOOLIGANS TO CHEAP SHOT OTHER PLAYERS TO DEATH! Whether the sneaker company is Nikew or Reebok, a letter sent to these companies should say that Mr. Artest is GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY! Then we will see what happens to Mr. Artest when his cheap shots and thuggery on the basketball court MAKE HIM A PARIAH IN THE NBA! The MANAGEMENT AND OWNERSHIP OF THE NBA SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN ANY LAWSUITS FILED BY THE INJURED PARTIES, IF ONLY TO MAKE THEM PUNISH THE PLAYERS EVEN
MORE HIGH-HANDEDLY THAN THEY WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE DONE!

who ever put this up is stupid, the league has never done that. you guys need to stop writing stupid articles that make no sense. your story is not going to make any diffrience tomorrow when they announce the result of a suspenion.

Steve – you are one of the few bloggers here (nba.com in general) that has actually sounded rational & logical. I agree completely – there are many issues with linking the injury to the suspension.

Pretend game guy – you just sound really creepy & weird. stop that.

Domainsnext – i am also a lakers fan, but to suggest that MWP didnt know what he was doing? – No.. he knew full well what he was doing.. it was a brain explosion, but unfortunately not entirely surprising for him.

MWP is a dirty, unpredictable & dangerous player who deserves a 5 game suspension at least. The great shame is that he was finally playing great ball after a horrible season, and then he goes and does something stupid (& dangerous) like that. He has let many people down, but further to that, he obviously has real unresolved issues which have manifested in unjustifiable, aggressive acts, over a number of years. I hope after this season, the lakers let him go.

Each suspension Metta WorldPeace suffers should make him vulnerable to being traded from team to team WITH NO STAYING POWER UNTIL HE’S TOO OLD TO PLAY EFFECTIVELY;THEN HE SHOULD BE FORCED TO RETIRE FROM THE NBA IN DISGRACE! The NBA DOES NOT NEED PLAYERS TRYING TO TURN EVERY NBA GAME INTO A PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING MATCH!SUSPENSIONS SHOULD TOTALLY REPLACE FINES IN EVERY ARE OF PUNISHMENT BECAUSE FINES ARE ALMOST NEVER PAID AND THE PLAYERS’ UNION WOULD SCREAM BLOODY MURDER IF MR. ARTEST. IS FINED ANYWHERE FROM 20% to 50% OF HIS SALARY!

I think artest did the right thing. Harden is still some what of a rookie, he talks a lot of garbage and some one had to shut his mouth up. The last time la met okc kobe and harden were talking a lot, artest was listening and was waiting for the right time to show him to stfu rookie. hes not going to come out and say I did it and ruin his image. Hes not perfect, no one is perfect, so give it a break. Thank you world peace

Really???? Do u honestly believe nethin u have written here???? Hav u ever played a game of basketball???? I bet not….

Me & my brothers play all the time & in tough matches things do get heated up.. Every1 keeps bantering to throw the oppositions game off but that does not give permission to someone to hit anyone so brutally & severely…. I’m not a Kobe hater (I love his spirit and love for the game) but how i hope now that it was Kobe in front of the elbow & not Harden….. I would have absolutely enjoyed ur comment then…. Hope sum1 pays the lakers back wat they hav dished out….

Why would you dirty the name of John Stockton? Are you serious about this load of manure you just dumped on us? You must be an la gangster to have an attitude like that. Ron Artests new name should be Most Worthless Player.
Metta World Peace is such a lame name, there are not words to describe it.

wtf? these stupid Lakers fans please admit Artest is an a-hole always was and always will be. Who the hell celebrate like that swinging the elbow in reverse. Go watch the video again there was a contact before the elbow as he bumped into James and yet he still swung his elbow. The punishment will be severe and he should be banned for at least 10 games or more.

The average basketball fan has no idea that one of the sneaky tricks of defenders is to stand right behind a player trying to run back up court so as to impede their progress and cause an entanglement or a confrontation which may lead to a double technical. Paul Pierce is notorious for this, as is James Harden. In the replay you can clearly see Harden run right up behind Peace and put his elbows up like he was throwing a block on a football field. Another fact the casual fan might not know is that the Thunder have taunted and trash talked the Lakers in all their victories over them this season so there is also such a thing as antagonization. It’s unfortunate that Harden was injured, and Peace most certainly has to watch where he swings those clubs he calls elbows, but I’ll bet James Harden will think twice next time before he tries to get in the way of someone trying to run back up court.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR WHAT “METTA WORLD WAR” DID TO JAMES HARDEN! METTA WORLD PEACE HAS LEFT BEHIND A LONG TRAIL OF BAD BEHAVIOR ON THE HARDWOOD! THE LAKERS DESERVE TO BE FORCED TO PLAY SHORTHANDED-AND LOSE!!! MAYBE THEN THEY-AND THE REFEREES-WILL DO A BETTER JOB OF MONITORING THE CONDUCT OF THEIR PLAYERS ON THE BASKETBALL COURT!

I am not LAKER fan but also not OKC fan……. but look at the video, I just hope Harden can get better soon. I know I couldn’t survive that elbow if I was him, I would probably just rot in the hospital for the next 3 or 4 weeks, or maybe more…..

I am not LAKER fan but also not OKC fan……. but look at the video, I just hope Harden can get better soon. I know I probably couldn’t survive that elbow if I was him, I would probably just rot in the hospital for the next 4 weeks…. maybe more.

as i noticed,world peace reaction is what harden 1st moved,there is no reason why harden try to be physical to world peace after the dunk,some players do it just to make the opponent irritated,knowing world peace doing well at 1st half…harden is clever player but never expect the reaction of world peace is that hard….

For Christ’s sake, Harden’s just standing there! And MWP would have to blind not to see him! So what if he stands in the way, players stand close to each other throughout the game. That elbow is one of the ugliest plays I’ve seen and MWP is a disgrace to the game.

I don’t think there should be a blanket policy on this issue. It’s enough for the league to say “we’re going to be very strict about this” and then follow through. Instances are rare enough that league officials can decide penalties on a case-by-case basis. I think Artest should be out for the next 4 games, which means 1 regular season and 3 playoff games, and then the first 6-8 games of the next season. It strikes a balance between punishing Artest vs. punishing his whole team.

WHERE WERE THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE WHEN “METTA WORLD WAR,” AS I WILL NOW REFER TO THE MAN WHO CALLS HIMSELF “METTA WORLD PEACE”, WHEN “METTA WORLD PEACE” AIMED HIS ELBOW AT THE HEAD OF JAMES HARDEN? SOMEBODY CLEARLY WENT AWOL! WHAT WILL THE LAKERS DO THE NEXT TIME
“METTA WORLD PEACE” AIMS HIS ELBOW LIKE A LETHAL WEAPON AT THE HEAD OF ANOTHER PLAYER?

THE FANS THEMSELVES MUST MAKE THEMSELVES HEARD-WITH A BOYCOTT THAT LASTS THE ENTIRE 2012-13 SEASON AND BEYOND-BY TURNING TO HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL UNTIL THE NBA HAS A COMMISSIONER WHO ISN’T AFRAID TO SWING THE AXE AT THE NEXT PLAYER WHO BRUTALIZES AN OPPONENT
ON THE HARDWOOD! CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME IF THE HIGH SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES APPROPRIATELY PUNISH BRUTAL PLAYERS?

I can’t believe that rhe Lakers Fans are still applauding when MWP was on his way to the Locker Room. Would they still applaud if Kobe was the one who got hit by let’s say,, uuhhmm,, Serge Ibaka??? That would be brutal too right? Intentional or unintentional, Lakers Fans applauding for what MWP did was very WRONG!!!

The play happened too fast. You and everyone else watching at home had the benefit of watching a million replays right after it happened. There was no replay in Staples Center, so NO ONE AT THE GAME knew what happened unless they were looking directly at MWP when he threw the elbow. Mike Breen was even saying that while the officials were reviewing it–There was no replay on the screen at Staples Center.

I also don’t think that Harden had any business bodying him like that if you’re on offense. The court is huge, and as an offensive player, you want to get away from the opposing defense. What was he trying to do? That was a cheeky move to an emotionally charged MWP and the ticking time bomb exploded.

A little shove would have been fine and have sent enough of a message, but an elbow to the head is way way way way way too much. Hope Harden is fine.

I also hope Mr. Harden recovers and lives to play many more games for the Oklahoma City Thunder. BUT IF HE DOESN’T RECOVER THAT MAKES IT EVEN MORE IMPERATIVE THAT COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN SHOULD BE REPLACED BY A COMMISSIONER WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO SWING THE AXE IN THE DIRECTION OF “METTA WORLD WAR,” AS SOMEBODY CALLED “METTA WORLD PEACE.” “METTA WORLD WAR” DOES HAVE A MORE TRUTHFUL RING TO IT. THUGGISH BEHAVIOR ON THE PART OF ANY NBA PLAYER SHOULD BE REGARDED AS QA MAJOR TURN-OFF TO FANS WHO WANT TO SEE MORE CIVILITY IN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS.

Artes, I guess you are the only one besides some LA fanatics to see that way. You are the dirties player in NBA, and you better join UFC. I do not want to imagine a guy like you can do w/o all those cameras, and fans.
NBA needs to do something to protect other players..

Well let Perkins join UFC too.I bet OKC fans are not complaining about the elbow to the head of Blake Griffin. There is no blog for it since he didnt get knocked out. They let Jason Smith tackle B.Griff. I bet Okc fans were applauding that. I say Perkins hit was planned. That hit happened after Jason tackled Griffin. Then the league just follows behind everyone else. Even Robin Lopez getting in the act. UNBELIEVABLE. Teams that dish it out, STOP CRYING.

What is your point? Artes is innocent because of Perkins? You LA fans were not thinking this way while Artes was playing against Kobe. whomever try to hurt other party should be punished. Just imagine Artes throwing that elbow to your brother or someone close to you.

I, too, hope Mr. Harden will be able to play again. I HOPE THAT WHEN MR. HARDEN IS ABLE TO RESUME PLAYING IN THE NBA THAT “METTA WORLD PEACE” WILL BE SOMEWHERE FAR AWAY-PREFERABLY ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN. THE NBA DOESN’T NEED HIS KIND OF PLAYER IN THE NBA.

just suspend him forever. Can’t see this gangsta attitude in the nba. For god’s shake, it’s the best (and of the most quality) basketball league in the world. Just don’t break it. Suspend this poor, retarded boy for ever. No reason to continue in the league, he doesn’t like and doesn’t respect basketball.

Nelly you could sum it all up in three words:STOP THE SAVAGERY! Ron Artest deserves one thing and one thing only:TO BE SCAPEGOATED FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE FOR HITTING JAMES HARDEN WITH HIS ELBOW!A fan BOYCOTT of the NBA is in order to tell commissioner David Stern to STOP THE CARNAGE! High school and college basketball have much better discipline and I hope that they are encouraged to use all the disciplinary means at their disposal to stop the savagery and brutal actions.

Play a ‘PRETEND’ game….are you serious?? You must be tripping. Metta clearly swung his elbow…it wasn’t just am accident or a reaction, it was wanting to hit Harden and hurt him… Metta should not play again this season, including the post season… Dirty play… And by the way I like Metta, but an example needs to be set… That could have cuased serious damage to a player if they are hit in the wrong place… I REST MY CASE…

THEY SHOULD PUNISH “METTA WORLDPEACE” IF HE ELBOWS ANYBODY ELSE BY TRADING HIM TO ANOTHER TEAM AND THE NEXT TEAM SHOULD DO THE SAME, AND SO ON, UNTIL “METTA WORLDPEACE” IS TOO OLD TO
PLAY EFFECTIVE BASKETBALL;THEN THERE IS ONLY ONE OPTION LEFT:RETIREMENT FROM THE GAME! “METTA WORLD PEACE” IS TOO MUCH OF A HOTHEAD TO BE OF ANY FURTHER USE TO THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS!

MostWorthlessPlayer, I mean MettaWorldPeace is going to be getting off easy I bet. He’ll get five games, some fines and that’s it. Harden will be back most likely in four games so even if you take Worthless out for and equal amount to Harden’s recovery he will be getting off easy.

On another note I just love seeing the hypocritical LAL fans who cried about Griffin dunking on Gasol. They wanted him fined and suspended. Now they try to excuse this by saying the guy was “celebrating”. Next time I punch someone I’ll just close my eyes and say “hey get out the way while I’m “celebrating!”.

What a load of BS. NO LAL fan wanted Blake to be suspended or fined. They just felt the points shouldn’t have been awarded. It was more a offensive foul than 2 points, regardless if he dunked it or not. Both of em…..the over the back foul and the forearm to the face.

I agree it looks atleast half intentional. Artest didnt have to look at him to know harden was there, he felt the hand harden put on him and reacted badly. You just can’t be running around throwing elbows because you feel like you made a great play and you expect everyone to get out of your way. In also saying that, harden’s an idiot for rockin up and intentionally running towards artest for absolutely no reason. In saying that though, he shouldn’t be getting elbowed just because he decided it to be “smart” to run into players on dead plays. there’s no need for that.

Agree totally with ‘truthurts’ on everything except the 3 games. I’m a Laker fan and was disgraced watching the game. I thought he was going to cost us the win and more importantly Harden’s season. It was 100% intentional, his elbow motion wasn’t a part of his celebration and he knew where Harden was.

I’ve accidently elbowed people a few times playing basketball & football (soccer) and the very first thing i did was turn around and check if the person was OK. For Artest to walk away without looking suggests he knew exactly what he was doing and who he hit.

i am a laker fan as well and with ron artest history more then likely he will be giving a big blow for this matter. It look like he was having a good time after a powerful dunk but i am sure he felt someone touch him not knowing who and firgured it was a good time to hit someone. he has tried to clean up his game after the renameing him self. but to not check on the person is not good and the league should look at this from a guy with a bad past history and give a 5 game suspension plus a nice little fine. you never hit someone in any sport and not check on them.

TruthHurts, you can call it BS but I live in LA and all I heard when Blake dunked on Gasol where cries of outrage on how bad of an offensive foul it was. Then I saw Laker fans on here posting how he should be suspended.

You think a 3 game suspension is fair punishment? Wow what more do I need to back up my first statement? LA fans are hypocrites. Harden was waiting for the ball to be inbounded. Anyone (who is not a biased LAL fan) could see that. MWP was “celebrating” and had his eyes closed. So if we are to find a person at fault for just the collision and not the hit, wouldn’t it be the guy not watching where he’s going? Nuff said!

….there are no ‘dead’ plays, man….. this isn’t football where the plays ends and no action till the next snap…. after a made basket, “coaches” instruct players to ‘get back on defense’ NOT act the fool (as if he never scores) …..NOT whine to the refs that you didn’t get the call you thought was warranted like gasahol does alot !!! Keep playing basketball because NOW you are a defensive player —– YOU IDIOT !!! So help your TEAM and get back as quickly as possible so you can maybe make a difference on the play!!!…..OR you can do like you do!!!….and So many others do …..just keep drawing attention to yourself like THAT is why you are on a pro basketball court!!!!

i agree with you there, since MWP was celebrating but there was a bump before he wound up and delivered the elbow..

honestly IMO MWP must have severe punishment because from my perspective he did that intentionally..

now many lakers fan would say it would hurt their chances in the playoffs if MWP is suspended have they ever thought of the chances the OKC now that harden is listed as day to day, not knowing when he will be ok’d to play..

Truthfully, MWP should have tried to be more aware of what hes doing….But…James Harden knew exactly what he was doing when he jumped in the way. He was trying to interrupt Rons celebration on purpose. Most NBA fans know that Harden is no angel either…He tested the wrong guy, ON PURPOSE! He simply did not know that MWP was going to knock his block off! But he definitely was trying to get a reaction of him…and he got it.

at least there are still some who are judging the incident and not the person.. My view:

1. Harden was not tryin to get the ball inbound pls stop saying this, he was behind mwp, he saw him dunking, he saw where mwp path is heading, HE WANTED A REACTION/TECHNICAL/GESTURE FROM MWP AND HE GOT IT.

2. Even though Harden was the one who bumped mwp, he even stepped to the side twice to block mwp’s path. it even looked like he was playing D on mwp after the dunk. EVEN THOUGH HARDEN DID IT, MWP SHOULDNT HAVE ELBOWED HIM THAT HARD.

3. MWP INTENTIONALLY ELBOWED HARDEN. Its a “get out of my way” move.

4. MWP DID NOT INTENTIONALLY TRIED TO ELBOW HARDENS HEAD/NECK, IT JUST HAPPENED HE HIT HIM THERE

are you kidding me? it was an inbound play.. james harden is a playmaker, so all he was up to, was getting the ball… ever played basketball before? after the opponent scores you have to get the ball inbound to your playmaker in order to score yourself… omg, all harden was looking for, was the ball.. stupid excuses…. and btw. if it was accidential (like MWP says) he would have checked for harden.. immediately.

…..the ballplayer formerly know as ‘Artest’ has lost the ability to have just “the incident , not the person” judged when he quit acting like a person….. he was allowed back in the nba if he would act like a person….. hasn’t happened….SO…he will be adjudged as “RON ARTEST” (111 games from 13 !! prior suspensions) —THAT …….ron artest…. I’ll save the caps for his new Proper Name….what a freakin JOKE !!

Mr. Artest, or whatever he calls himself these days, SHOULD BE TRADED FROM TEAM TO TEAM IN THE NBA with no more than two years’ worth of staying power;AND HE SHOULD BE KEPT OUT OF THE BASKETBALL
HALL OF FAME FOREVER BBECAUSE OF HIS TRACK RECORD. IF HE’S BEEN SUSPENDED BEFORE FOR HIS ON-COURT BEHAVIOR HE SHOULD BE PUNISHED IN “BEAT-THE-DEAD-HORSE” STYLE EVERY SINGLE TIME HE ELBOWS OR OTHERWISE TRIES TO DISABLE ANOTHER NBA PLAYER.

As a Lakers fan, I believe this matter should be dealt with in a very fair way, rather than with all of the hoopla that is going around. The NBA should have 5 different experts look at the tape and decide if the play was intentional or unintentional. If three out of 5 say it was intentional, then the punishment could be severe. If the elbow was unintentional, Artest should not be punished at all regardless of what Harding suffered.

From watching the tape repeatedly, I can say that I have noticed the following:

The whole episode took no more than 2 seconds. Artest was celebrating getting the basket
When Artest’s elbow hit Harding, Artest at no time before, during, or even after saw who got hit. His eyes were completely closed before the elbowing, and Harding was the one who ran toward him. Just imagine that you are driving your car and as you are going 40 mph, someone jumps in front of your car. You have no time to react or even see that someone is about to get hit. Under these circumstances what would be the punishment to the driver? That is exactly what happened in this incident.

Yeah I’ll have some too. He pulled his elbow away from Harden to gain momentum and then he swung it at Harden. MWP was celebrating, but he knew someone was there. An elbow of that magnitude wouldn’t be a part of a basket celebration. He obviously felt Harden was there, from every angle, and every speed, it clearly looks intentional. If a driver hits someone that jumps in front of them, regardless of reaction time, the driver would be charged for manslaughter. He doesn’t need to know who got hit. He just knew that he wanted to hit someone, so he did. He was caught up in the emotion, and when he felt someone get in his way, he wanted to get rid of them. I’m not sure if the NBA should relate the time that Harden is sidelined with the length of the suspension, but I know that OKC would not hold such a vital part of their offense out for longer than necessary just to keep MWP, who has been great of late, but quite an inconsistent contribution to the Laker’s offense otherwise. They would easier make a deep playoff run with the presence of James Harden rather than the absence of MWP.

its not about finding excuses its about using logic. Im kinda in the middle about this. The hit was very serious, so serious he could have ended Harden’s life and therefore should be punished accordingly. However, dont let ur hate for MWP or LA get in the way of proper judgement. One important fact that has to be considered is the intentions behind it, nowhere do i see MWP opening his eyes or noticing Harden’s around him. Watch the tape as many times as you like it wont change. Also, the dudes recent history has been anything but violent. However, his celebration was still excessive and this is the harm it caused. Maybe hes just not right in the head who knows. Regardless, it should be judged fairly by officials not by emotional fans or other teams.

PS @ HeatWade…with the flagrants Wade has been getting away with its only a matter of time till he injures someone this bad

It doesn’t matter if it was an accident. If he is recklessly throwing hard elbows on a crowded court he could kill someone. Best case scenario, he threw a vicious elbow in a reckless disregard for anyone around him. Though I am confident that he could feel Harden touching him before the strike and certainly felt his elbow strike Harden. After the strike he didn’t even have the courtesy of looking to see who he struck. I believe he did not look to see who it was because he already knew. He did it on purpose!

Exactly! And watch his footwork against Ibaka instead of immediately apologising to Harden and his teammates!! In my opinion another proof he threw the elbow on purpose. MWP looked to be in for a(nother) brawl (to get some OKC players suspended with him?…) Suspend MWP from the NBA indefinitely, he already got his second chance!

METTA WORLD WAR SHOULD BE SCAPEGOATED FOR EVERYTHING HE DOES THAT SHOWS HE’S NOT A TEAM PLAYER FROM NOW UNTIL HIS CONTRACT COMES UP FOR RENEWAL IN 2013-2014! THE NBA-AND EVERY
SINGLE TEAM IN THE NBA-SHOULD HAVE A POLICY AGAINST “SHOWBOATING” ON THE HARDWOOD DURING AN NBA GAME!THAT IS WHAT METTA WORLD WAR WAS DOING BEFORE HITTING JAMES HARDEN WITH HIS ELBOW!

Due to his past he needs a severe punishment. It was obviously intentionally, We have all unintentionally knocked into to someone and our normal reaction is to turn and look at what or who we “bumped” into. Artest didn’t even flinch and just continued celebrating which is not a normal reaction if you just “accidentally” clocked someone. He didn’t react because it was no suprise to him. If his eyes were closed how did he know he hadn’t clocked one of his own players, so wouldn’t you at least look. And come on he obviously reared back to gain force and momentum in the swing. Whu Harden got so close who knows but you still can’t do what Artest did, I case next time somebody gets to close to me when I’m at a bar I should just clock them over the head with a beer bottle…ooops I was just dancing.

….@tfrost & terminate…..100% correct…..he needs to go for GOOD….. NO 3rd chance to end a Real players career….. end of story….. I don’t see what all the talk is about…… He is a loose cannon ….. if he were a non-nba favorite team….. He would already have been suspended for the rest of the year….. like say Ibaka clocked Sessions…..there would be a decision the next day !!!!

Terminate, I couldn’t agree more! THE MAN HAS BECOME A MAJOR LIABILITY TO THE LAKERS AND I HOPE HE BECOMES SOMETHING ELSE-A PARIAH! IT WILL BE HIS OWN FAULT! METTA WORLD WAR SHOULD BE SCAPEGOATED FOREVER FOR HIS NASTY ELBOW TO THE BACK OF JAMES HARDEN’S HEAD! FANS WHO THINK COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN ISN’T DOING ENOUGH TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY BASKETBALL PROFESSIONALLY SHOULD BOYCOTT THE NBA IN FAVOR OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL WHERE PUNISHMENT BECOMES EVEN GREATER CERTAINITY FOR SUCH DELIBERATELY MALICIOUS ACTIONS! METTA WORLD WAR NEEDS TO BE TERMINATED!

I would expect a load of hogwash like this from a lakers fan. You think that your lakers are somehow above reproach and beyond the laws of the NBA. I would like to see Ron Artest permanently banished from the NBA. He is a loose cannon.
Here is my suggestion for disciplining Artest. Fine him 25% of his season income and only allow him to return when Harden is cleared to return.
The NBA cannot allow this kind of savagery in their business. Artest knew ws doing, and he knew who he was doing it to. That premeditated. Harden should also bring civil court action against Artest. This is basketball, not a UFC match.

Second, You know how many nba experts, media, fans, have watched the tape my friend? THOUSANDS of people have watched the tape. And be sure the NBA comish and his experts have watched this tape, basketball experts outside the NBA have watched this tape, and be sure that most if not ALL agree that this is intentional and way out of line.
Tell me one thing, how do you go on celebrating after a dunk by throwing elbow shots with someone near you? No you don’t, I know I don’t swing my elbows out in celebration after a nice layup (I can’t dunk). For one thing if you watch the tape, As you say you have many times, WHY DOESN”T RON ARTEST (Metta wor… whatever) have the heart and decency of at least checking on who he just nailed with his elbow. YEA your right THE GUY DOESN’T EVEN LOOK TO SEE, HE DOESN”T EVEN TURN HIS HEAD TO LOOK WHO HE JUST HIT. That to me is just out of line.
So Yes suspension is suitable for an incident such as this where a person doesn’t care if he hit’s someone in the head, and then says “Oops I didn’t see him there…” Yea WHATEVER, but you sure found the target didn’t you ARTEST.

Harden got a nasty blow. It was ugly. Absolutely.
The league should respond in an appropriate manner. Of course it should.

Play a ‘PRETEND’ game with me … PLEASE !

Take a deep breath. Clear your mind, Now, pretend you just had a spat with your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend, hold your palms near your face and turn your body away from him/her so he/she is kinda behind your left shoulder. Pretend you can see, from the corner of of your eyes, their hand reaching towards your left shoulder/rib cage … now shout “Don’t touch me”!

Are you trying to pull “A Time to Kill” moment here? You’re delusional, you must’ve experienced that kind of abusive behavior you’re whole life that’s probably why you’re trying to make excuses for it just like how MWP is denying it wasn’t intentional. Please….. He clearly knew that Harden was there, and he swung that elbow with intent. That wasn’t no celebration act.

It is illogical and inappropriate to DIRECTLY base the length of the suspension on the injured player’s recovery time. Recovery time may be affected by many factors other than the severity or degree of violence of the injuring action, such as the overall fragility of a particular player or how fast he heals in general—or even the possibility of a pre-existing injury or condition that could have been merely aggravated rather than CAUSED by the foul. It also would be a very bad idea to give the injured player or his team the POWER to control the length of a player’s suspension simply by deciding to hold out their injured player longer than necessary.

I think the only sensible solution is for the NBA to TAKE INTO ACCOUNT the estimated severity of the injury in determining whether the suspension should be shorter or longer, BUT NOT TO BASE THE LENGTH DIRECTLY ON THE EXACT RECOVERY TIME.

I disagree with one thing. OKC Thunder knows very well how important James Harden is to the Thunder’s offense. The OKC team and its medical staff will do everything in their power to get Harden back onto the court as quickly as humanely possible so the Thunder can make a serious playoff run. Simply, they don’t have the time to play a lil revenge game back at MWP and the Lakers. No they do not. They can’t and won’t risk it. So CLEARLY it’s even more illogical to hold Harden out of games just to control a player’s suspension length. Harden is their best playmaker, too risky to hold him out just to play a revenge game. Thus, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THIS IF NBA CHOOSES HAVE THE PLAYERS SUSPENSION LENGTH EQUAL THE PLAYERS RECOVERY TIME. Too much have players commit a flagrant 2 foul MWP said he did not see Harden, of course he didnt “see” him but he sure as hell felt another players presence when they slightly touched shoulder-to-shoulder. And he reacted to the contact with the elbow play. INEXCUSABLE. NBA is doing the right thing if they do decide this is how the suspension should go through. Players need to really control themselves. If you caused a player to die from this for example, how can you live with yourself right?

Yeah i have to agree with you Steve. There’s no team in the league going to hold a palyer of James Harden’s caliber out longer than necessary, but what if it was just a role player with a much lesser role? Very good point.

but they should take into account the estimated recovery time for harden’s injury

i mean there’s a big difference whether harden is all fine and dandy now or whether he has a concussion with neurological symptoms

personally, i wouldnt think twice about it. I’d suspend World Peace for the season, and issue him a strict warning that if he commits another flagrant he’s out of the league.
I don’t care if he changed his name, taking into account this guy’s history with the pacers, if he does this one more time he should be out for good. He changed his name, now he has to make his game more peaceful…

I’ve been biting my tongue about this whole deal. Trying to avoid the message boards and forums, especially since I will be a little more biased as a Thunder fan from Oklahoma City. And since Harden is probably my favorite player for the Thunder.

That being said, Artest (or World Peace, whatever the hell you wanna call him,) has been suspended 13 times already. THIRTEEN TIMES. This will be the 14th. Come on. This dude is dangerous to the league and to the players.

I think the last 10 suspensions have been too many… it should be a 3-strike, you’re out policy…. no 3 strikes + 11 to give this guy the benefit of the doubt.

I dont know how intentional or unintentional it was, none of us can know. But looking at the replays, there is no way that Artest didnt know somebody was right there behind him. Throwing an elbow, with a follow through after contact, and then not stopping to see who he hit, or if they were ok…. Then immediately going into defensive fight-stance as Ibaka confronted him… That’s too much.

I disagree with you Steve, unfortunately this type of flagrant fouls should be an oportunity for any league to set an example, altough we can’t confirm the true intentions of MWP it is obvious he went out of the way and has sidelined a really important player for Oklahoma, if the league just gives a 2 game suspension to the lakers player then next game anyone can just knock down kobe or lebron and expect a two game suspension while the injured player remains out for more games affecting the overall team performance.

This type of faults should get an exemplary punishment, in order to show the other players they can’t play this way.

They should suspend METTA WORLD WAR FOREVER, WHETHER OR NOT HARDEN COMES BACK ONTO THE HARDWOOD! THE MAN HAS PROVEN TO BE A GREATER LIABILITY TO THE LAKERS! A FAN BOYCOTT OF THE NBA
IN FAVOR OF WATCHING HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL IS WHAT IS NEEDED HERE; THE NBA NEEDS A COMMISSIONER WHO’S NOT AFRAID-AND DAMN THE CONSEQUENCES!-TO METE OUT JUSTICE LIKE A MACHETE OR MEAT CLEAVER TO PLAYERS LIKE ARTEST WHEN THEY INTENTIONALLY ELBOW OTHER PLAYERS!

I’m sure the league policy and the players union will not allow the kind of punishment that’s being suggested by this article. There’s to many moving parts for the league to tie World Peace’s return to James Harden’s return. Give World Peace the same penalty that Bynum got when he laid out Jose Barea last season during the playoff, plus the max fine that can be given to a player.

WRONG! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT SHOULD BE DONE IN CASE HARDEN DOESN’T RECOVER RIGHT AWAY
OR IN SUFFICIENT TIME TO AID AID HIS TEAM! METTA WORLD WAR IS A DANGEROUSLY UNSTABLE PLAYER
WHO SHOULD BE WITCH-HUNTED OUT OF THE NBA!

…..we would NEVER hear the end of it !!! The outcry from lakerfan woud be endless!!!!! …..but this is ‘different’….. he didn’t mean it…… In the real world you may try to get away with that phony line…BUT, you would still pay dearly… As for linking his suspension to the length of time Harden is out could ONLY come fro A** burger’s lips—- a total IDIOT !!! This thug should be shown the door for good …. and for the good of the league….. remember there are young people watching and maybe THAT should be taken into consideration. We want to watch basketball…NOT self aggrandizing, chest beating ‘look at me’ —-I just made a basket selfishness…. Just kick him out for the playoffs…. if the laker fans think they Cannot win without Artest, they are mistaken….should have been playing the younger guys anyway….remember the future??? Let’s move on to playoff basketball without this lame Holywood manufactured ‘drama’…..

Your memory is short, it just happened to Kobe, that dirty player, that cell phone commercial king, Dwayne Wade, just did it.

The idea of suspending a player as long as the injured player is out was my idea. Earlier this year, Rajon Rondo was out for 9 games from a flagrant foul by Linas Kleiza that caused him to land on his wrist.

I do not agree with it!! In this case Harden will try to recover as fast as he can to help his team because his team needs him. However say Artest hit a bench player… if i was oklahoma, i would sit that player for the rest of next season… just so Artest wouldnt play… Now Artest DID try to hit Harden, however i do not believe he tried to hit Harden on the back of the head. I believe Artest and if you watch the replays over and over again and see it closely you will see that Harden comes to Artest when the play was over and body contacts him. If i was in Artest’s shoes, i would probably do the same, except i would have better aim and swing at his arm instead of the back of his head. Artest retaliated and as an accident hit him on the back of the head…. thats what i saw!!!! Now if Harden had never gone to provoke it and Artest went to him and hit him, then YES BAN HIM FOR EVER. You guys are over exagerating!!! Suspend him for the end result is fine because he has horrible aim but this guy should not get punished for ever!!!

A LIFETIME SUSPENSION FROM BASKETBALL IS WHAT METTA WORLD WAR DESERVES FOR ELBOWING
JAMES HARDEN! A BOYCOTT OF THE NBA IN FAVOR OF HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL
IS ALSO NEEDED SO THAT HARSHER PUNISHMENT IS METED OUT INSTEAD OF THESE INSIPID SLAPS
ON THE WRIST THAT COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN KEEPS GIVING TO THESE IDIOTS!